Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-02-09
FORCING TOWNS TO MOVE.
ARBITRARY WAYS OF THE RAILROAD
FOLKS IN THE FAR WEST.

An Old Real Estate Dealer Relates q
Dit of His Eapericnce-How Schemes
Are Sometimes Fixed Up-An Illus
tration.
A recent arrival here is Town Let Brady,
who has earned his name by his long
career as dealer in town lots The old
man is not looking as prosperous as he
used TO, and it is evident that times arc
not as they were with him Relating his
experiences last night, he said The town
site business isn't what it was Before
the railroads came into this country | had
no difficulty in calling the turn on a town
every time. ! knew Just where they
would be built | have made the lOca
ton of towns study for more than thirty
years When go into a new country
just look the ground over, and, taking
everything into consideration, | soon
come to the conclusion where the town
ought to be. Ninety nine times in hun
dred, if nothing out of the ordinary hap
pens to prevent, the town will grow Just
where it ought to- I've seen that tried
and | know. When | have located the
town site and made arrangements with
fe" interested parties to take hold Of the
matter my duty is done. ! have always
made it Il point to take few lots, gener-
ally on the corners, aud have left the rest
ia the other fellows have been called
lit more than n hundred times by men
who were about TO locate a town and who
wanted the Judgment 6f an expert ON the
place to be chosen In such eases | al
ways demand about four OF the best lots
III town. and get them, too.
ABOUT SO FAR APART
You can set it down as fact that
towns in a new country will he about SO
far apart The lay of the land has some
thing to do with the matter. but not SO
much as many people suppose. know
some OF the best towns in the west that
are on about the poorest sites that could
h. selected You've got to take great
many other things into view. Now, if
there is no railroad You must get a map
and find out about how the roads are run
ming, how far it is To the nearest one and
from what direction the first road TO be
built in the natural order of things will
come from. When you've got that set
tied take trip around the country and
find out if il viii support population and
what kind Of a population, After that
see the owners of the land lying around
aud try and fix up scheme with them.
II they take kindly to the notion of lay
ing out town you will not have any
more trouble. 1t is easy enough 10 get
people interested in new town after you
have found place for it on the map.
Before the days Of railroads ont here |
made money, but can I do it now.
4 had my pile invested in the town of
Arbordale down here. and il was about
the finest layout for city that | ever
saw; but when the railroad came through
the managers put their tracks right
through the town and announced that
they would nave a station four miles west
of il. You see, they had bought farm
down there. and they We're going - have
a town Of their own When ! heard Of
that called on the gentlemen and remon-
strdted. told them that Arbordale was
the metropolis of that section and that an
atJempt tn ignore it would bring ruin to
lis citizens particularly me, but they only
laughed and wanted 10 know about how
much we wodld pay to nave the station
located there.